Two can play this game
by NecroticHate
Summary: Apparently, the closer to you person is, the more they can hurt you. And the less obvious the reasons would be.
**A feud starts between Dipper and Wendy. This happens somewhere in early-mid second season, before 'Not what he seems'. Told mostly from Mabel's perspective. Read and enjoy, and comment/criticize if you found it appropriate.**

* * *

A car came to a stop outside the Mystery Shack. Mabel suspended her business of giving Waddles a make up and looked out of the window to see if they're going to receive any more visitors right before closure. But the car was not bringing tourists, rather it was Soos' pickup truck. Soos, Dipper and Wendy came back from the grocery trip into town.

Dipper was the first to come inside the Shack. He was dragging two heavy bags full of groceries, despite him being the least suitable for heavy labour of them three. His face was warped with anger. Without saying a word he proceeded to the kitchen. Then Wendy entered the room. She came to the counter with indifference written all over her face and reached for her magazine that laid near the cash machine. "How's business going?" - she asked Mabel, whom Stan appointed to replace her at the cash while the redhead was in town.

"Not bad," - Mabel pointer her at Waddles with with lipstick-covered snout, and Wendy smirked. - "And how was your trip, guys?" - Mabel questioned. Surprisingly, Wendy's brows twitched and she inhaled sharply.

"Could have been better." - she hissed.

"What's wrong, Wen-wen?" - Mabel asked timidly, having a bad feeling about something that could have disappointed her cool laid-back friend so much.

"Oh, everything would've been perfect, if not for your dumbass of a brother," - Corduroy burst out, obviously unable to contain her feelings anymore. - "Cheating jerk," - she added, slamming her fist on the counter.

Mabel's jaw dropped. Nothing she knew about her brother, her ginger friend or their interactions with each other could have prepared her for this.

"Wait, what? What do you mean, Wendy?" - she asked, hardly able to believe what she heard. - "What happened? What did he do?"

"Yeah, Wendy," - Dipper said, suddenly entering the room. - "What did I do? Care to explain?"

"He knows what he did," - Wendy said, not even looking at him. - "Damn cheater!"

"Cheater?" - the more she heard, the more confused Mabel became. - "But guys, you are, like, not even dating, how could he-"

"Wendy, for the hundredth time, I wasn't cheating. You just suck at Fight Fighters!"

"Fight Fighters?" - Mabel gasped in disbelief. - "You guys sure are taking this seriously."

"I suck?! How dare you! I'll kick you face!"

"Well," - Dipper crossed his arms. - "what's stopping you?" - for almost a minute he and Wendy were looking at each other murderously. Mabel used this time to retreat from the room, carefully, step by step, trying not to startle them. As much as she wanted to learn more about their conflict and then help them put up, it was simply scary to stay around them at the time. The air in the room seemed dense. Mabel left the door slightly open to see what happened in the gift shop.

"Oh, wouldn't you know it?" - Wendy suddenly yelled, breaking her staring contest with Dipper. - "It's five o'clock, my shift is over, and I'm out of here. Might as well find a different job, some of my co-workers piss me off."

"Oh, snap, where did I put my Journal?" - Dipper wondered out loud.

"Time to hang out with my partners in crime!" - ginger girl announced loud enough for it to be heard around the whole Shack. - "Maybe today we should go to the abandoned mine, see if we can find anything interesting in there."

"Wha-" - Dipper started, only to quickly interrupt himself. Mabel couldn't see his face through the slit in the door, because he was standing with his back to the door, but she could swear she saw jets of steam venting through his ears. - "Oh, tonight's airing Gravity Falls TV Bargain Movie Marathon," - the guy cried out then. - "I suppose I should invite... errm... Candy Chew to watch it."

Wendy made a sound most suitable for a person experiencing a heart attack and an apoplexy at the same time. She then ran out of Shack hastily. Dipper turned around on his heels and went to the door Mabel was hiding behind. She quickly stepped aside to pretend she was just passing by. Her brother went through the door, rubbing his hands with a devilish grin.

"Two can play this game, ms Corduroy!" - he murmured gloatingly. - "Two can play this game."

"Dipper, what happened?" - Mabel asked.

"Oh, don't mention it," - he waved his hand at her. - "Candy and Grenda are coming for a sleepover tonight, right?" - he asked. When his sister nodded in confirmation, he gibbered: 'good, good,' in a villainous tone and headed to the attic. Mabel just stood there and looked at him going up the ladder, still muttering something under his breath.

"Dude," - Soos went through the door. He looked confused and worried. - "What happened? Why was Wendy so angry? Is it about Dipper? She went out of the Shack red as a lobster, saying something about the game that can be played by two. What game was she talking about? Are those two going back to the arcade? They've been at each other's throats since they visited it."

"Things are getting complicated, Soos," - Mabel answered, still looking after her brother.

* * *

The attic was prepared to host sleepover. Dipper has taken his sleeping bag to the old carpet room in good time, and Mabel stored rows of Pitt Cola bottles and piles of snacks beside her bed. Pre-teen girl magazines, board games and several books to match Grenda's famous 'Wolfman Bare Chest' were hoarded on the floor, ready to serve as fuel for burning girlish fantasies. Mabel took a look at the attic one more time, made sure everything was in place and went down with a satisfied grin.

At the Shack's main entrance she met Candy and Grenda, who walked in together.

"Girls, are you ready for the most unforgettable night in history?" - Mabel cried out excitedly.

"Ten times yes!" - Grenda shouted, raising her fists.

"Let's not waste time unnecessarily," - Candy suggested, and they quickly made their way to the attic. Once there, they started the sleepover with unloading new 'Wolfman Bare Chest' series books from Grenda's bag, but before they could proceed to reading, they were interrupted by a loud cough from the attic door.

"Hey, ladies!" - it was Dipper, who leaned to the door framed and looked at them with a calm smile on his face.

"Oh, hey Dipper, what's up?"

"Hi, Dipper!" - Candy smirked.

"Broseph?" - Mabel asked quietly.

"How's it going? Actually, Candy, I was meaning to speak to you personally. Wouldn't you make me company in watching tonight's movie marathon?"

"Why, Dipper, I would love to, but we're having a sleepover tonight," - Candy responded, her face turning crimson.

"Come on, just one film, maybe?" - the guy pressed. - "I have ordered a pizza and made popcorn. And I figured you might like movies like this."

"Why all of a sudden-" - Grenda asked under her breath, heavily puzzled.

"One film?" - Candy asked sheepishly.

"I'm sure, Grenda and my sister wouldn't mind, would they? And they obviously have a lot to occupy themselves with," - Dipper insisted.

"Well, I guess I'll go," - Candy smiled. - "And what exactly are we watching?"

"GF TV bargain movie showcase," - Dipper clarified. - "The first film is 'Martian Necrobots vs dead zombies', if I recall correctly."

Candy's smile became tense.

"Um, on second thoughts-" - she started.

"Trust me, it's much better than it sounds," - Dipper assured her. - "Besides, you might really like it. I, for instance, love such films. Have you watched movies like this before?"

"Bro-bro?" - Mabel said, as quietly as she did before.

"I don't think so," - Candy mused.

"Then why not give it a try?"

"OK," - the girl finally submitted. - "Guys, I'll be back soon," - she told her friends before following Dipper downstairs.

Grenda and Mabel were left in the attic together with Waddles. Two girls exchanged looks, and Grenda just shrugged, while Mabel sighed sadly in upset.

"So, this happens," - she murmured.

* * *

Minutes passed by as two girls tried to play 'Calling all boys' preteen edition, but they were too much distracted to pay the game any attention. Reading love novels aloud did not bring any relief either. Finally, Grenda and Mabel had to admit that all their thoughts were centred around Candy and Dipper, who were downstairs.

"You want to eavesdrop on them?" - Mabel asked sheepishly.

"What? No, of course not. How could you have though? That's bad!"

"Yeah, right. It's totally bad. We would never do it!"

Next thing they knew, they were behind the door to the living room, looking inside through a small crack. The room was dark, and Candy and Dipper's faces were only lit by the lightning of TV screen.

"Whoa, that's a boomer," - Dipper exclaimed with a hushed, but agitated voice. His sight was confined on the screen.

"But this is stupid," - Candy pointed out. - "You can see there's a human inside this robot costume, see, there, on the side, in the armpit."

"That's what I was talking about," - the guy laughed. His interest in the movie seemed absolutely sincere. Candy just shook her head.

"The script is poorly written. They could have escaped on a boat a long time ago."

"Candy, that's the point!" - Dipper explained. - "If they did that absolutely logical thing, we wouldn't see the brilliant scene of necrobot tearing off that James guy's head."

"Which was clearly made of papier mache, and the blood was just watered gouache."

"You noticed," - Dipper happily laughed, while Candy shook her head once agian.

Grenda and Mabel parted from the crack in the door and looked at each other.

"We need to save her," - Grenda whispered.

"Agreed," - Mabel nodded. - "Initiate operation 'Extract Candy'." - With his Mabel pushed the door and came in. - "So, sweet couple, having your share of fun?" - she asked with the most smarmy voice she could muster.

"Mabel, shhhh" - Dipper hissed on her. - "The movie is coming to it's culmination."

"Dipper, how much longer will it take?" - his sister inquired. - "Can we have our friend back?"

Dipper frowned. Then he looked back at Candy, who awkwardly looked away. The guy sighed.

"OK, I suppose you'd better go. There's not much left of the movie anyway, so..."

"It was nice, actually," - Candy attempted to relieve him.

"Yeah, right," - he waved off. - "It wasn't even the best movie on bargain movie showcase, so whatever."

"Candy, let's go already," - Mabel pulled her by the hand. - "Let my bro-bro watch the rest of this horror show in peace."

The girls went out of the room and proceeded to the attic.

"So, how was it?" - Grenda asked once the door behind them was closed.

"Popcorn was good," - Candy answered evasively. - "The movie - less so."

"I see. Lucky you, we still have twenty seven 'Wolfman Bare Chest' novels to make you feel better."

* * *

Later that night, when Candy and Grenda were laying down to sleep, Mabel went to check on her brother. She found him in the same place, watching TV and slowly sipping Pitt Cola.

"How's it going, bro-bro?" - Mabel asked softly, coming closer to him.

"Apparently, watching these alone is not as much fun," - Dipper responded gloomily. - "I also feel bad for ruining Candy's evening. But I actually thought she might like films like these."

"And?" - Mabel demanded.

"And for trying to use her to extract my vengeance on Wendy," - the brother admitted with reluctance. - "Man, what was I thinking?"

"Candy likes you a little, you know?"

"Yeah, I suppose so. Well, I tried not to give her any ideas. Besides, now she must think that I'm just a nerd bonkers for cheap old-timey horror movies. Which is not inaccurate. So this might be for the better."

Mabel rummaged the last grains of popcorn out of the bowl and tossed them in her mouth. Dipper threw back his head and looked at the ceiling.

"And what was that about an abandoned mine, or stuff?" - sister asked suddenly. The boy twitched slightly hearing that.

"There was a reference in a Journal," - he said, - "about a mine that was closed due to an accident when the Author was still about. I dug into old newspapers in Gravity Falls Library, and read an article about it. I told Wendy about the mine, and we decided that we may one day go to explore the it. Looks like she decided to go on without me," - he covered his eyes with the back of his hand. - "Hope she had fun in there," - he whispered.

Mabel just smirked on the last comment.

"How did your bicker start, anyway?"

Dipper sighed heavily again and set up on his bed.

"We helped Soos with the groceries at first, but then we stopped near the arcade. He went to the store on the other side of the street. We asked him if he needed our help, and he said no, so we went straight to the arcade. There we played Fight Fighters. I was ahead of her by several victories. I played fair, but I used uber-attack a lot, and Wendy didn't, so she was loosing. It turns out she just didn't know how to use uber, and apparently she thought that her character, dr. Karate, doesn't have uber. That's why I was way ahead of her by victory count. And finally she got mad at me."

"Because you were winning?"

"I wasn't just winning, I was, like, abusing her. Not even giving her a chance. But it just didn't occur to me then that she might not know about uber. I guess, at the moment I was just carried away by my victories, too full of myself. I bested Wendy, after all! Huh," - he sighed yet again. - "This is beyond stupid."

Mabel was silent for some time. Then she slightly tapped her brother's shoulder.

"Just like when we found out I was taller than you, and then we fought over a size-changing flashlight, remember?" - she said quietly. Dipper nodded. - "This arcade game must mean a lot for you two," - she guessed, and younger Pines smiled weakly. - "Dip, you know what you have to do, right?"

"I should go to her tomorrow and apologise, right?" - he asked. - "I know, but- but what if she wouldn't accept it?"

"Dipper, you're supposed to be the smart guy!" - the girl reproached him. - "All right, if you worry so much, I might ask her beforehand."

"No, don't do it," - he said decisively. - "I have to talk to her myself."

"Of course you have, dummy, and I definitely wouldn't beg her to forgive you. I'll just test the waters for you, alright?"

Younger Pines scratched his head.

"Well, that wouldn't hurt, I suppose," - he agreed finally. - "Very well, thanks, Mabel."

"You're welcome anytime, bro-bro," - she exclaimed, tapping his shoulder once more. - "And now try to sleep and not cry in the pillow all night, OK?"

"Hey!"

"Just teasing! I know you will anyway!"

"I said hey!"

"Dipper, don't be like this!"

"That's how you mend my broken heart, huh?"

"Just lay down and sleep already. Tomorrow everything will be alright, I tell you. So, goodnight, Dipper."

"Thank you, talking to you actually made me feel better. Goodnight, Mabel." - he said, before she went back to the attic. He was left alone in the living room, with his bowl of popcorn already empty. He looked at the screen. Cheesy B-movies with ludicrous decorations and costumes didn't seem entertaining anymore, when he had no company to watch them with. He sighed heavily and reached for remote to turn TV off.

* * *

Next day the readheaded cashier even wasn't late for work. Mabel laid in wait for her in the gift shop, while Dipper was directed by Stan to repairing some exhibits in the museum together with Soos. What Mabel saw was exactly what she expected - Wendy was sullen, gloomy, and apparently didn't have a well night's rest.

"Good morning, Wendy!" - Mabel sang, dancing closer to her friend, who sat behind he counter and supported her chin on her fists, looking blankly in front of her. - "Did you sleep well?"

"Mabel, your trolling is not welcome here," - Wendy responded.

"Oh, come on!" - Pines girl cried out. - "First I get this from my brother, now you too?"

"Oh, yeah," - ginger teenager said. - "Your brother," - she rubbed her face violently with both hands. - "Where is he? I need to talk to him."

"He's in the museum with Soos, they're doing repairs."

"Thanks, Mabes," - Wendy said, standing up. She patted Mabel's head slightly. - "Sorry I was rude to you, it's just I didn't sleep well. I'll buy you an ice cream to make amends."

"You're going now? If Stan sees you're not at the working place, he might be disappointed," - Mabel admonished with a tricky smile.

"To hell with Stan, I have more important business," - Wendy waved her hand, before going to the Mystery Shack museum.

"Stubborn lass," - Mabel whispered, looking after her. - "I locked them in a closet, and in the end it resulted in Dipper confessing his feelings. Where should I lock them to make her declare?"

* * *

"Dipper," - she said, coming closer. He didn't notice her coming, and her voice startled him.

"Hey," - he said, awkwardly avoiding her eyes, standing up.

"Got a minute?" - she asked.

"Yeah, sure," - he looked back at Soos. - "Cover for me, OK? I'll be back soon." - The beefy guy just shrugged and returned to fixing the showpieces. - "So, what's up?" - he asked after they walked away from Soos a bit. - "Actually, I've been meaning to talk to you, too."

"Dipper, I'm sorry," - Wendy said simply. - "I'm sorry for yesterday, I was wrong all along."

"No, I'm sorry, Wendy," - the boy replied fervently. - "I exasperated you, I shouldn't have acted like that."

"Dude, it was just a game. And I overreacted like I was loosing my whole family, or something."

"I pressed you too hard."

"Dude," - she smiled mirthlessly. - "It's about time we stop talking about that. You better tell me, how was your movie night?"

"Awful, to say the least," - Pines wrinkled. - "Well, maybe the movie night itself wasn't so bad, but the whole situation was nowhere near fair towards Candy."

"It's a good think you understand it."

"And she couldn't stop complaining the movie was not romantic enough," - Dipper sighed.

"On Gravity Falls TV Bargain Movie Night?! Not romantic enough? You don't say!"

"Yeah, I know, right. How was the trip to the old mine, by the way?"

"Meh. The crew combined is not twenty percent as inventive as you are. I was bored in, like, ten minutes, and we left pretty soon."

"Wendy, I'm really sorry. Now I see that because of our fight I've just wasted a good evening. We both did, right? I realized that you and me, we have some very personal things, like these movie marathons, that most other people don't understand and appreciate, and we must cherish these personal things, treasure them, because that's what makes us what we are. Make us special, I guess."

"Yeah, man, that's just kind of how I feel about it. If you meet someone who is weird in exact same way as you are, you need to cling to them like you life depends on it."

"That's what I wanted to say," - he smiled. - "So, friends?" he stretched away his arm, awaiting for her high-five. Instead, she grabbed his arm in a wrestle-handshake, and then pulled him to herself and hugged him with the other hand. He instinctively answered her hug, while his heartbeat rate jumped into stratosphere.

"Besties, dude!" - she laughed before releasing him. Dipper, with his face red as a ripe tomato, automatically rearranged his cap when they parted, and answered her smile. He still dithered, and made a long array of unnecessary actions such as patting his clothes, while Wendy watched him with a kind smile. Finally he reached inside his vest and pulled out a VHS tape from one of the pockets. - "OK, surprise me," - Wendy demanded, looking at the VHS.

"Ever heard of Harry Claymore?"

"Dude!" - girl's eyes widened. - "Is this?-"

"Yeah, it's a digest of his films. I've stumbled across this in a local store, and decided that it would be great to watch it together some day. So, I was saving this for a special case. What would you say?"

"Man, that's really something, it's not some 'ghost turtle' for ya. It's like a pearl among B-movies."

"So, tonight?"

"You may want to keep it for some more solemn day. I feel like going to the arcade tonight, wanna make me company?"

"What's on your mind?" - Dipper frowned.

"Oh, nothing at all, I just want to play."

"Well, if you say so..."

* * *

The arcade was not too crowded, but one particular game machine was occupied for a long time. Two juveniles playing it seemed very energized. Rapid tapping of the keys alternated with cries of excitement, surprise, frustration and triumph. This evening, victorious screams were mostly uttered by a tall and lank redhead girl, while her shorter companion mostly cried out in chagrin.

"Four to one, dude," - Wendy exclaimed finally, after Rumble McSkirmish was sent to the ground yet another time. - "C'mon, you can do better than this."

"Wendy!" - Dipper withered her with his look. A moment later he exhaled with force, and wiped his forehead, which seemingly made him calm down. - "OK, I admit my defeat, but could you now explain please?"

She thumped his shoulder lightly with her small, but stout fist.

"Oh, it's simple, yesterday we left that aged mine early enough, so I asked Thopmson to train me a bit in 'Fight Fighters'. He showed me some of the tricks and explained that, basically, dr Karate sucks compared to any other character."

"That's why you switched to Czar-barian," - Dipper figured. - "I see. OK, you bested me. But I want a rematch!"

"Oh, you want it - you get it!" - Wendy promised him with a glint in her eye.

"Yeah, I want it! Because, you know, two can play this game!"

They laughed heartedly before returning to the character selection screen. Dipper was a little mad at his friend for training in secret from him, but all in all, he was more than happy. Although he lost four times already, the whole situation was a massive win.


End file.
